Mom who lied about attempted abduction to face charges

January 18, 2013 12:00:00 AM PST

by Cornell Barnard

SAN JOSE, Calif. --

Why would a mother lie about her child's attempted abduction? That's exactly what San Jose investigators want to know, after uncovering a mother's made-up tale of a stranger trying to rip her toddler from her arms.

We wanted to talk with Jenny Araujo at her East San Jose home Friday morning, but she didn't answer the door. A friend who showed up said she wasn't talking to anyone.

On Wednesday Araujo told ABC7 News a stranger tried to snatch her 3-year-old daughter from her front yard on Dayo Court, "I couldn't get her away fast enough. Her boots fell off. Her pants were coming off because he was pulling hard enough."

It was described it as a tug-of-war, with the daughter caught in the middle. Police would later learn it was all a lie.

"The investigators started pushing a little bit harder, decided to bring the mother in again and it didn't take too long and she finally confessed to fabricating the entire story," said San Jose Ofc. Albert Morales.

The toddler's father, Curtis Wordlaw, adds, "I'm upset that this lie was perpetuated by my baby's mother for reasons unknown."

Wordlaw is now in a custody fight for Araujo's two daughters. He says he's not surprised by the lie, because it's happened before.

"She told all my friends and her family that my daughter had leukemia and it wasn't until one of her friends who is a nurse asked her about the treatment that she was receiving that she came clean," Wordlaw said.

Wordlaw tells ABC7 News that he now plans on asking for full custody of his daughters, given what's happened in the last few days.

Police say they will press charges as soon as Tuesday. Filing a false police report is a misdemeanor punishable of up to six months in jail and a $1,000 fine.